Together, they entered the brightly lit elevator. Rissa looked at the card, turned it over, and scanned the information on the back. Her inspection seemed almost cursory, and then she simply handed the card back.
"Not going to work?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes, an expression she'd seen in commercials and found fitting. "Of course it's going to work. I know your card number now. Guess I might have to go shopping tonight."
Sin didn't even react to her attempt at a joke. He merely slid the card into one of the many pockets in his armor. Everything about his posture seemed tense and distracted, yet he tried to force a smile to his lips.
"Well, since it's your money, I guess that's fair, huh?" Neither spoke for a few more floors, then he broke the silence. "Walking through town is not going to be safe right now. You know that, right?"
"It's ok," she told him. "I know you will keep me safe."
"Riss, I can't keep you safe from a building blowing up beside us, and I have no idea if they are going to make any more hits!" He groaned. "We need to get to cover, not go shopping."
"We need to protect those who cannot protect themselves," she reminded him.
"I vowed to God that I would keep you safe," he reminded her. "Not them, Riss. You. Above all else, I will protectyou,and this does not feel like I'm doing my job."
"This," she countered, "is you protecting me while I do something for more people than myself. It's no different than your actions for George Stephanson. I may not make speeches, but I can still act, and if I am no longer required to follow OutLink's protocols—which would be the end result of helping me leave the Enclave—then I can do this."
"Ok," he relented. "But you move when I tell you to, even if it means a delay. If I say run, you run. I don't care what we're in the middle of. I'll help you, but you have to help me too."
"I promise," she swore to him. "Also, the targeted structures seem to be businesses that are engaged in cybernetics in some form—at least from the forum comments. Medications, construction, and even on the periphery. As long as we avoid those areas, we should be fine. The chaos in the city will only help us avoid detection."
"Yeah." He reached up and touched her shoulder gently, clearly giving in. "So you know, I liked tonight, Riss. Seeing the sunset with you? We need to do that more often."
Looking up, her eyes met his. For a moment her gaze wavered, and then she glanced away as a shy smile found her lips, even though he couldn't see it. "I like spending time with you, Sin. Thank you for showing me everything."
"Everything?" he teased. "We're nowhere close to that."
"Well, you've shown me everything I've seen of the world, so it counts."
He nodded, accepting that. "And thank you for thinking about everyone else first." To clarify, he tapped the pocket with the card in it. "Not many people would, not with everything that's happened to you."
The door dinged for the ground floor and slid open. "You would," she said, walking into the lobby.
They left the building, turning towards the Market District. Inside the Exa-Com building, things had seemed deceptively peaceful. Out here on the street, it was a different story. Dozens of people were running. Even more were walking quickly as they tried to get to safety. Rissa saw tears on cheeks and so many terrified faces, but Sin merely caught her arm and led her towards the edge of the building.
They didn't make it.
Just as they were about to turn left, someone grabbed Sin's arm, yanking him away from her. The whine of the priest's gauss pistol being activated was nearly lost in the sounds of chaos around them, but Sin thrusting the weapon into a man's face was blatant.
To the side, a woman screamed before spinning to run the other way. Other people hurried to get away from them, rushing in all directions. Before them, a man lifted both of his hands, making it clear he wasn't a threat. The gesture spread open his trench coat, showing a pair of pistols holstered on his hips, but he wasn't reaching for them. The only problem was that Rissa recognized this guy's face. She was pretty sure Sin did as well. This was the same man who'd followed them to the train station that day: Caleb, the head of Pharmacon's security.
"You cannot have her," Sin warned.
Caleb did the last thing Rissa would've expected. The man smiled. "I don't want her. I actually came to warn you, Brother Sin."
"That Pharmacon's jacking Ingénues?" Sin asked. "Yeah, figured that one out on my own."
Caleb just jerked his chin at the gun. "Consider putting that down and I'll give you more."
"No."
So Caleb pulled in a deep breath and looked over at Rissa. "I am not here to harm you. There is no reason for you to reset. Do you understand what I'm saying, Ingénue?"
"Yes," she replied, but her eyes jumped to Sin, and the man's head twitched, proving he'd noticed.
Sin just chuckled. "She listens to me, Caleb, not you."
